A Sea of Sand
by Rhavis
Summary: Some times, when searching for the path you should take, you might find more in the past than you would truly believe.
1. Hunger

**Prologue **

**Hunger**

Minekia watched the ice in her glass slowly melt. It had barely been a week before they had returned to the Village Hidden in the Sand. Naruto being kidnapped had weighed on her heavily. _I should have been there… _But she had a job to do at the time and couldn't be. _I should have been able to help them… _But she was too weak as she was now. Never had she felt as useless as she did, she had always been able to help those she considered friends. "The Sand's Ultimate weapon… that's what they call me. And that's all I am. A weapon… Not a shield." She sighed and downed the rest of her water, eating the ice and tossed the glass aside, the hardened ceramics resisting the trip into the sink. She had tried having regular glass dishes but had quickly learned she was too rough with them. And even her pay made it unreasonable to try and keep up with the rate she broke them. That and the shop keeper had quickly become annoyed with the frequency of her visits.

Shrugging she turned from the sink back to the table… to find a latter that hadn't been there before sitting where her glass had been.

She stared at it. No one in the village was that good… except Garaa-sensei but he was in a class all his own. And even if he wanted to talk to her he would have stepped up and said so, not leave a letter. Minekia felt a chill go down her spine as she picked up the folded paper. Holding it closed was a wax seal, a circle with three wavy lines across the center…

The symbol of the Misakata clan… her clan. She could have sworn she had been the last of the clan to survive. But this? She shuddered, no one should be that good.

Slowly she opened the letter, and felt her body go cold.


	2. Naught But a Letter

**Naught But A Letter**

It had been an entire Generation since Naruto Uzumaki's adventures finally came to an end and he gained the position of the Hokage. Now, as the younger generation took the place of the last New and Old threats along with allies had come.

Garaa, the Kazakage of the Sand had taken three students. Katsutoshi, Sukai, and Minekia. Each had a hard childhood, each came from a cold, dark, lonely background. Each had unique abilities that very few, if no others, had. But this story follows only one. Minekia had been found by Garaa only a mile outside of the Village gates. Alone… with barely rags to clothe her and not even able to speak, the trauma of what ever had happened had left her a mute. And to this day no one knew what had lead her to that predicament, and Minekia had never dwelled on it.

Then barely weeks ago, during the year's Chuunin Exams the Village Hidden in the Sound, and the Village Hidden in the Ground had both assaulted the Village Hidden in the Leaves where the Exams were being held. In the fight that followed barely three hundred Villagers survived, and the Hokage had been abducted. But help from the Sand had stopped any more damage from occurring. The after shocks from what had happened had left Minekia feeling cold and lifeless more than usual. She spoke less, and felt lethargic. She ignored the pity she got from her team mates and other ninja.

After the letter had come though she lost the lethargic feeling as more of her attention was concentrated on what had been in the letter… things like that usually would have worried those who knew her, but her recent behavior had already more or less buffered them to this because it seemed just like the last. The only real difference was that there was a new focus to her eyes.

When she arrived at the Kazakage's tower for the weekly nonsense mission to give them something to due while others looked for information on what had happened and the connection between villages Minekia didn't notice any one else was there until Sukai brushed her elbow against her arm, "You feeling better Minekia?"

The red head blinked absently before turning her attention back to the real world, "Yeah… somewhat at least. What does the Kazakage have for us today?"

Katsutoshi decided that moment to make his own appearance, "Turns out there was a sighting of an unknown ninja in several different locations around the Village. It's a bit far fetched even for me but it seems like who ever it is moves unlike anyone's ever seen before. I know little else then that. Worst part is, no one knows if they really exist and if they do what they're after."

Minekia frowned as she thought about it. Her mind wondering absently back to the letter. "Right… lets get this over with. The less time we spend on this the more time we'll be able to spend doing real work." With that she vanished, leaving her team mates behind.

* * *

Minekia soared through the air, the villagers bellow her looking as if ants, and the buildings their hives. The Air Dancing jutsu she had gained from a rogue ninja she had fought allowed her this ability for as long as it lasted… the down side was that she was vulnerable in the air because she was slow unless diving. She was still working on the brakes.

Two hours into the search and she hadn't even a trace of this mystery ninja that had been reported. The very thought that this was a wild goose chase had crossed her mind multiple times in the last few minutes but if it was than the Kazakage wouldn't have wasted their efforts on it. He would have put them to a more useful task. Witch then lead to the other thoughts she had continuously tried to block out. Her recent behavior might have been hurting her image for the Kazakage thus leading to his distracting them from hampering those ninja who weren't distracted. And thus lead to the thoughts that she was holding back her friends. She sighed and shook her head. They would tell her! Wouldn't they?

Her attention was drawn by a moving shadow from near the ground and she turned on the winds she had been riding… to find a figure standing atop a pole staring right at her.

Minekia felt her skin crawl as she looked at the figure. They were taller then she was, about six feet, and shrouded in ragged cloth that covered them from head to toe. They looked as if they were a cloud of shadows. Minekia's voice came out as barely even a whisper, "Who are you…" She watched a smirk spread across the shadowed mouth, and the figure leapt at her. In a flurry of cloth and wind they skimmed past her, eyes never leaving hers… and Minekia felt entranced.

It felt as if an eternity passed in those few moments as the stranger glided past her, hidden face locked with hers. And then they fell, gravity taking hold on them. Time came back to Minekia like a sledgehammer. The figure fell towards the ground at an amazing speed, and without ever making a single noise, landed lightly atop a roof and sprinted along.

"Wait!" Minekia's shout was not of her own violation but paid no heed to it. This was the person her team was sent after. And she also had a feeling this was also the person that would give her answers about the letter. The sand ninja twisted in the sky, nosing herself down vertically and dropped. Wind thundered around her as she dove, the Wind Dancing jutsu letting her needle through the air at greater speed then would have normally been possible.

Just before she would have slammed into the roofs a ramp of air formed, and changed her angle, leaving her to shoot along after her quarry. As she sped through the air she watched with narrowed eyes as the target raced ahead of her. She wondered briefly how the stranger was keeping ahead of her, but the thought was drowned as the other looked over their shoulder briefly.

_Little birdie wants fed… but little does little birdie know that the Hunter is disguised as prey… Come, come, little birdie, your hunter is hungry._

Minekia's eyes widened as she felt her throat close. The words weren't spoken… it seemed as if she had just thought them up out of nowhere… but at the same time she knew that her quarry had been the one to speak them. She let loose a snarl, "Your mind games wont work on me. Now come here so I can tear some answers from your flesh!"

The figure smiled again, but this time it was openly noticeable. _Catch me if you can._ And with that the target leapt from the roof and down into the crowded streets. Minekia cursed and followed.

* * *

The shrouded ninja landed heavily on a cart as it was passing. The driver was launched from it and into a cabbage stand, the pumpkins that had been in the cart smashed into a pulp. And then, in the same movement, the ninja launched themselves from the ruined cart and dashed down the packed street. Civilians screamed and dove out of the way trying to avoid getting ran over, but with their passing few noticed the second figure coming off the roofs in pursuit.

* * *

Minekia flipped in the air, the distance too short for her to make another ramp and continue using her jutsu. Instead she focused all the wind she had been riding down into a single point and created a cushion for her landing to absorb the speed.

The side effect was that it created a large shockwave of power blasting away what was left of the crushed wagon and what few pumpkins were intact were launched into the surrounding stands and people. To say a few would probably have splinters was an understatement…

Minekia paid little mind to the chaos her landing had caused and raced off down the street after her target. She thumbed her radio, "Katsutoshi, Sukai! I got our target sighted! We're currently going down the central street strait towards the Gates! Intercept!" She thumbed it off before an answer could come through. So she could focus on the chase.

It was pretty simple to follow her target. The billowing rags they wore made them stand out against the crowd. Genin that were on simple tasks dove out fo the way of the older ninja as they cut through the crowed street.

"Ninja Art! Atomic Light beam Jutsu!" The shrowded figure slapped the ground in front of them, transferring some of their forward momentum upward, allowing them to vault over the sudden rain of light beams that came from Katsutoshi's Kekei-Genkai. As they rose in the air above the crowd his hand blurred as he cast another jutsu, "Ninja Art! Light Wave!" He cast his hand horizontally out in front of him and was wave of light slashed through the air at it's target.

_Darkest Art. Shade._

The figure seemed to warp as Katsutoshi watched. Then they _shifted _through the air. He watched as they first dropped, then skimmed forward without movement. When they were just in front of him they split into two images that wrapped around him. Spinning in order to catch the attack he knew was happening he never saw the blow that came from the way he had been facing previously.

The figure didn't pause long enough to make sure the Sand ninja stayed down and continued their path towards the Gate. "Fire Style, Ring of Fire jutsu!" Sukai's ring soared through the air, but again the figure dodged, barely avoiding the trap. "Fire Style, Fireball jutsu!" A massive rolling flame raced across the now-empty street as Sukai unleashed another attack.

_Darkest Art. Piercing Shadows._

A hand appeared from the billowing cloth, wreathing in animate shadows. The ball of darkness pierced the Fireball jutsu and dispelled it as if it was just as intangible as the shadows covering the figure's hand. Sukai grimaced as they closed realizing she couldn't dodge the attack.

"Legacy Style: Kakashi, Chidori!"

The air filled with the chirping of a thousand birds as the Lightning blade from Minekia intercepted the ninja's attack moments before it would have hit her friend. As the two jutsu's collided. The following shockwave of power blasted the trio apart, launching Sukai and Minekia through the air and into a ramen stand, and launching the other ninja into a casino.

Tsunade would have cried had she seen.

Minekia slowly clambered to her feet, sparing a glance to make sure Sukai was on her feet as well. "How did they deflect the Chidori?"

"I'm not sure but I'm starting to think this fight's out of our hands here. They dropped Katsutoshi without even trying! How are we going to stop them?"

Minekia would have gave a curt reply if the ninja didn't choose that moment to walk out of the ruins of the casino. "I'm impressed. Not many people can both deflect the Piercing Darkness jutsu, and negate my Walking Shadows jutsu both at the same time. I guess mother was right to send me to give you that letter." The female voice sounded more innocent then it should have. At least to Minekia, some one that powerful shouldn't sound so jovial. But her mind wasn't on that: it was on something she deemed far more important.

"You're the one that left that letter?" She ignored the look she had garnered from Sukai.

"Yes. I'll tell you more if you want… but you have to catch me first." She lunged and both Sukai and Minekia reacted in union from long years of synchronized practice.

"Fire Style!"

"Legacy Style: Sukai!"

"Greater Dragon Breath jutsu!" Twin seas of flame erupted from the girls, and a tidal wave towered over the mystery ninja.

Almost at the same instant she released her own as well, "Darkest Art! Liquid Shadows!" Again the shadows around her came to life, this time in a liquid form. And they rose around her in a geyser protecting her from the tidal wave of pure flame.

As the smoke and rubble cleared Minekia and Sukai were both breathing hard as their target was left, again, unscathed. "This is bad. We need Katsutoshi if we want to win this." Minekia watched as Sukai dropped to a knee in exhaustion. They couldn't keep this up. They had to end it, now! And as luck would have it Katsutoshi decided that was the moment to run up to them.

"What've I missed? Sukai you look like crap."

Minekia didn't hear her reply and spoke quickly, "Me and Sukai have already tried duel-teaming her but she knocked aside our Greater Dragon Breath like it was nothing. I want to try the Zeta." They both blinked at her like she was crazy. Frowning she already started the hand signs not caring if they followed suit. This person was a threat to the Village and she would be damned if they got away.

The trio spaced them selves apart into a triangle formation, the object of their ire kneeling down as she curiously watched what they were doing. Sukai and Minekia stood closest, three feet apart, and Katsutoshi stood behind them at five feet. It took only moments for it to begin.

"Desert Style." Minekia closed her eyes and kneeled, placing her hands to the ground.

"Fire Style." Sukai copied her friend's movements, their voiced singing out in union.

"Mix. Multi-Glass Sheet Magnification!" Five sheets of glass, each slightly curved burst from the ground, each at one foot intervals right in front of Katsutoshi. He finally spoke once the sheets were in place.

"Ninja Art! Greater Atomic Beam jutsu!" And orb of light appeared in front of him, lightning arcing across it as he poured as much as he could into the attack. Before unleashing it into the magnifying glasses that increased the potency of the attack nearly a hundred fold.

The figure smirked as the massive blast raced towards her, blasting away all that was in the path of the blast leaving a swath of charred earth in it's wake as the smoke cleared. Minekia caught Sukai as she collapsed, spent, and Katsutoshi kneeled himself, also nearly spent, "Did we get her?" Minekia would have responded… if the dust didn't clear to reveal their quarry completely unharmed. "No. Way."

_My turn._

Light glinted from her as she drew several kunai. She flicked her wrists and ten in each hand flew into the sky and as they reached the apex of their throw light glinted off of micro-fibers attached to them and they danced, swinging around to embed themselves in the ground around her.

_Darkest Art. Marching Death, Windmill of Churning Shadows._

She flicked her wrists and fiddled with her fingers and the kunai sprung to life upon command. Massive rents appeared across solid rock, and the air was whipped into a frenzy by the dancing blades.

Minekia barely held back a gasp of agony as they tore across her skin. The figure falling into a dance. She jumped back before any more damage could be caused and passed Sukai to Katsutoshi, "Keep an eye on her." Without pause she leaped back into the fray, dancing onto the tips of her toes, "Desert Style! Sand Snake Strikes: Sixty Six Bites!" She wove her way through the singing metal into the heart of the hurricane to strike at her opponent.

* * *

The first two blows glanced off the ninja's right arm, and the retaliating song left gouges across Minekia's arm deep enough to see bone as she spun in mid-air to avoid a far worse injury. The next to blows, a pair of kicks landed heavily against the side, and the following four caught her in the chest. These cost Minekia a long gash across her face and another across her back.

Each hit landed was punctuated by a ring of sand erupting into existence between the two combatants. Each strike from the dancing metal was punctuated by a streamer of blood. By the sixtieth strike the two were surrounded by a blood soaked haze of sand.

Blows sixty one and sixty two were a backhand blow to the unknown ninja's wrist and a kick to her side. The retaliation was another slice across her already bloodied face. Blows sixty three and sixty four were a pair of kicks that glanced off the other's leg and arm, resulting in a slice that traveled down her leg. Blow sixty five was a heavy punch to the ninja's shoulder, that spun her around. She rode the momentum and brought an entire set of wires around, and Minekia never got the chance to finish the sixty sixth blow as the ten wires caught her down her entire back cutting through flesh and bone.

With a scream of pain, the force of the blow knocked Minekia aside like a sack of limp potatoes, flinging the girl away, letting her land limply several feet away.

She lay there for several moments, staring blankly at the sky trying orient herself through the pain that clouded her mind. She stared up at the unforgiving sun that glared at her and groaned. After several seconds of trying to find out if she could move, and finding out she couldn't, she gave up and decided sitting there was the best option.

After another couple moments a shadow suddenly appeared in her vision and she grunted, trying to clear the haze enough to place a name to the face that was now over her. The figure, not giving her time to ponder this kneeled down, revealing a brightly tanned face, framed by long rags hiding her from the sun with deep purple eyes, "Not quit strong enough yet. My name is Aura, and follow whats in the letter if you desire to know more about your past. Otherwise you'll never become that witch you desire." And as Minekia watched through the haze in her mind Aura faded, literally, from sight.

Then the fact she had lost a good amount of blood caught up to her and she passed out on the spot.

* * *

Minekia woke up slowly from the recesses of sleep. In the moments between sleep and true wakefulness she felt as if there wasn't a care in the world and she was floating on a cloud. It was pure, unadulterated bliss.

Down side was that good things never last more then a few moments.

Her eyes opened and reality hit her full force. The cloud turned into a cruelly hard bed, and the sense of bliss was replaced with a fuzzy haze that dulled all of her senses. Except for sight, witch she seriously wished would have been dulled as well because her view of the ceiling was blocked by Kankuro's ugly mug.

The puppet master was leaning over her with a quizzical expression that seemed to always adorn his face. She would have lashed out at him if her arms wanted to respond but they seemed to decide seeping was a lot better, so instead she groaned at him, "Why must you hover over me just as I'm waking up? Your face just ruined my day."

The puppet master barked out a laugh, and she could hear giggling coming from the left of her so she knew Tamari was there as well. A hand appeared and pushed the older of the two away and Sukai's face replaced his, "You ok? You took quite a beating out there. The doctors almost thought you were dead by the amount of blood that was covering you."

Minekia blinked slowly trying to force her thoughts into a semblance of order, "I don't know. I can't feel anything behind the tip of my tongue and my body is refusing to give me a status report. I think they used too many pain killers on me." Sukai gave a slight smirk as she moved out of her line of sight.

"They said the pain killers would wear off in a minute or two. Most of your wounds turned out to be superficial at best. There were a couple that were really bad like the ones down your back. Whatever that ninja used for weapons cut through bone like paper, everyone's surprised your still alive after being so reckless. But you should be able to get out by sundown, I'll see you tomorrow, me and Katsutoshi have to file a report."

With the she ushered everyone out to leave Minekia to rest. She sighed, at least she would be able to move again soon. So she focused on trying to get better, and her awareness of what was around her slipped.

She didn't know how long she stayed in that state… right between asleep, and awake, between aware and ignorant. But how ever long it was she was pulled from it by a weight slowly letting it's self down on her bed. It was too heavy to be either of her teammates or Garaa, but too heavy to be male. The only female that would visit her though would be… "Did you want something Tamari?"

_He he, silly little bird. I'm not who you think I am._

Minekia's eyes shot open to land on the shrouded figure she had fought. Her hood was lowered, revealing an oval shaped head with almond eyes and a full mouth. Long pure silver hair trailed to her wrists as she leaned back across Minekia's bed. Twin violet eyes locked with hers. _Glad to see your awake. Did you think any on what I had said while you slept? I hear your quite good at that._

Minekia's frown was prominent enough to get a slight giggle from the figure, "I thought some on it… what does it mean that the keys of my future are my past? And what did you mean that you knew why I'm feeling lethargic and useless? And how do you know of me, but I don't know of you?"

The woman smiled and closed her eyes as she turned towards the window, _The first part is easy. While you may not openly hold any connection to you clan… we Misakata are part of the clan even if we desire to be or not. We are family, but we are also enemies. Our clan don't have any ties to the Hidden Villages, but we have our hands in all of them one way or another. To understand what you are, and what you are going to be, you must understand your past. The second part of that is tied in to the first. To understand why you feel that way you must also understand what our Clan Is. And the third part… it's because you haven't seen me in years… and the trauma of what had happened would have left you without your memory. So I guess introductions are in order._

She stood by flipping out her legs and riding the momentum to the ground, "My name is Aura Misakata. Seventh in line for leadership of the Clan, and fourth most powerful channel. I am your older sister. If you want to know any more, head to the north, beyond the farthest borders of the Nations. You will find answers there." And with that Aura faded from sight, vanishing into thin air, and Minekia was left without speech.

Slowly, the Sands Ultimate Weapon looked down at her hand, "My Clan? It still exists?"

* * *

Later that night A lone figure slipped into the Kazakage's office. Garaa's sleeping form was leaning back in his chair, the soft sounds of his snoring filling the room. Minekia paused on the window seal, contemplating what she was about to do. Her sensei would reprimand her when she got back sure. And her friends would probably tie her up. But for some reason none of this really bothered her. She shook her head and entered.

As soon as her feet touched the floor Garaa flinched and she spoke, "It's just me. I need to drop something off." As soon as he relaxed Minekia smiled. Garaa had long since memorized the feel of each of their chakras. So when they had discovered that their sensei tended to fall asleep while doing the ever present Kage work they had decided to take it upon them selves to make sure he got to his bed. But tonight she wouldn't be able to help with the always challenging endeavor. Instead she slowly walked up to his desk and placed a blank folded sheet of paper on it. Then without another thought turned and existed the office the way she came in, heading over the northern wall, and dashed across the shifting sands.

She had a journey ahead of herself.

_Kazakage._

_I know this is a surprise to everyone, but I had to take my leave for a time. I leave this letter to tell you that I don't know when I'm coming back, or even if I am. But I wanted to let you know I'm thankful for everything._

_I've discovered that the keys to my future reside in my past. And I have to know who I am in order to discover who I will be. I'm sorry I couldn't ask permission… but now that I think about it. Is it not better to ask forgiveness than for permission?_

_Sounds like the knuckleheaded ninja you always told us about doesn't it? Anyway, I'll be back as soon as I can._

_-Minekia._

_P.S. Tell Katsutoshi he can have the fruit basket I left on my table. I don't want them to go bad and he always liked the lemons._

* * *

And… done. Longest chapter I have ever written. I feel EPIC.

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and a lot that you don't recognize anyway. Only chapter I'm using Sukai and Katsutoshi… I hope I didn't anger their makers by using them… but in order to keep the true sense of the setting, I used them and well… I got carried away with how strong they are/might be/were… I hope I didn't anger anyone, if I did let me know so I can apologize._

_Anyway, for those who care this story was inspired by ihavealife's "New Generation Naruto" and the character I made for him. This is her story and what happened to her in those intervening five years that she had been missing. As it goes along it'll explain a lot of things such as why she has a new outfit, and her hair color is different._

_I'll get to work on next chapter now._

_Cheers!_


	3. I Have Bowed Before Gods

**I Have Bowed Before Gods**

Minekia pulled down the front of her scarf that acted as a sand guard as she looked up the long staircase that lead through a winter-slain forest. The ice-chilled winds cut through her bare skin to the bone. The Dragon Heart jutsu from her Legacies had long ago been extinguished due to the freezing chill on the mountains around her. She had already been on the road for near five months, the trip through the Land of Earth had been a bit tricky due to the fact she had forgotten food, water, and that she was a Sand ninja in foreign land. By Kami what had she been thinking? Minekia breathed into her palms and rubbed them down her arms to fight off the chill as she started up the ruined stairs. Every few steppes at regular intervals was the symbol of her clan was carved into the worn stone. The obviously Japanese architecture gave a sense of familiarity to this unknown place, but the rest made her feel as if she were intruding upon sacred ground. It was a feeling that had her skin crawling.

It took several minutes to reach the top of the stairs, and once she got there a small village stretched out before her. Minekia frowned for a moment at the ruins, the building were still mostly intact but it was far too quite for her own liking. There would at least be bugs crawling across the ground. Instead they were completely barren, grimacing the Sand ninja turned her attention to the ground.

There, not even six feet away from her was a seal carved into the stone. It reminded her of her studies on the Fourth Hokage, the one that sired her idol and the mastery over jutsu seals he had. If she remembered this one would have sealed part of a person's essence into it in order for them to be able to guard something even after they had died.

Great, now she had to fight some dead people.

Why her?

Minekia sighed and turned her attention back to the village. All she had to do was figure out how to avoid activating it and she was good. But if she stayed here she would die from the cold and that was not a pleasant train of thought.

Besides, her sensei would kill her if after everything she had been through she wound up dieing from the cold. Don't ask how he'd do it, he has his ways.

So the young girl swallowed her pride and made her way into the village. It was a pretty simple layout, with barely two hundred buildings. Never meant to house very many at any point in time, just meant as a safe haven. There were a couple shops that had been cleaned out, and all of the houses had several floors which were also cleaned out. There was nothing here! Groaning Minekia sighed, laying down heavily on the ground. That was when she noticed what she was laying on.

She was up in an instant, staring wearily at the ground, and nearly laughed. There, in the center of the small village was a large inscription. Well, not exactly an inscription more like a list. And her head had come to rest on her own name.

That alone had her freaked. But when the name right below hers suddenly vanished and a spot just below that one was suddenly full she nearly feinted. Then it dawned on her what it was. "A list of all living Misakata…" She scrambled to her feet, and slowly turned to look around: the entire bowl was covered in names. "This is my family? So I'm not alone…" Her attention turned back to her own name, and just above it was three names. Aura, Iruy, and Ishtar. Her family?

"Brightest Art."

Minekia's head snapped up. She had totally forgotten about the trap.

"Chains of Light Binding."

Above her, chains of pure light suddenly erupted from nowhere and rocketed towards her at an insane speed. "Crap." She stole a word from Kankuro's vocabulary and turned on the ball of her foot to run. She got about three steppes before the chains slammed into her. She hit the ground, bounced and fount herself suspended by them. She cursed her lax of attention as a mostly see-through figure walked out from the shadows behind a building.

"Not very impressive. Even some one as young as you shouldn't have gotten caught by something as simple as that!."

The new comer was taller than Minekia by several inches, and putting her at around five feet eight inches. She wore barely anything that even Kankuro would consider "Modest" and was flat and as lanky as Minekia was… ok, not the flat part but she didn't have a chest that would knock the legendary pervert Jeria out, that was a given. Other than that the only thought Minekia could come up with was for her, "Get a better outfit please. That thing don't hide shit from anybody."

"So your Minekia… been a while."

The Sand ninja frowned at her, "What do you mean 'been a while'? I don't remember ever seeing you before, and you can't be from Katsutoshi's clan even though you use Light jutsu." Minekia slightly wiggled some until she could get her arm free, one it was she raised it, "Legacy Style: Katsutoshi, Seal Break!" Her arm glowed brightly and she cut it into the chains holding her suspended, and they shattered like glass to a rock. She dropped and landed on three limbs, refusing to dismiss her Legacy jutsu incase the newcomer decided to do a repeat performance.

She only raised a brow, "Interesting. So you've discovered your Kekei-Genkai. Not bad if I do say so my self."

Minekia's grin was feral, "You think I only have one? You're a fool to put your limits to me." Her hands blurred as they fell into a familiar set of hand signs, "Desert Style! Sand Pillar Jutsu!" The woman's eyes winded in shock as she barely dodged a pillar of sand that erupted from under the stone at her. She flipped over once, landing on her knees.

"Brightest Art! March of Light!"

Beams of pure light started dropping from the skies slamming into the ground, turning the structures they hit to ash. And slow with each fall they started getting closer to Minekia. She huffed, did the guardian really think she was that slow? She growled, getting to her feet, then dashed aside away from the jutsu coming at her. It wasn't until she got out of the path of the attack that it donned on her it was a diversion. This realization was punctuated by a fist coming out of thin air and landed again the side of her head. She fell, rolling across the ground in pain.

Slowly Minekia forced herself to her feet. The partial image that had hit her somehow was looking towards a different direction. "Looks like the real me is coming along with Aura. C'ya." She waved at Minekia and faded, the chakra holding her together dissipating.

Minekia frowned, "Nice. Now I have to wait for them to get here… god, how does something like that punch so hard?" She sat on the back of her feet and cradled her head to clear the daze from her sight.

* * *

Several minute later, after she had cleared her head from the fight Minekia slowly scanned over the bowel shaped indentation that carried the names of her Clan that were alive. It didn't take long to discover how they were organized. The oldest were more towards the center, while the youngest were more towards the outside. Each group of names were a family set, meaning that Aura and Iruy were apparently her sisters: since she had already met Aura at the Village that left the light user's fragment she had recently fought as Iruy. Ishtar though must have been her mother, even though Minekia didn't have any solid proof. It felt like instinct really. And since there weren't any male names that meant her father was dead. The Sand ninja shrugged, no loss to her. She didn't have any memories from before Garaa had found her in the first place. Though later if she got her memories back it would hit her, but until then, she had more information to gather.

She slowly scanned the entire list, only a few names ringing old, rusted, dust covered bells. But the ring refused to yield their secrets.

Each list though told her that she was closer to understanding what her clan was. She sighed and stood up, the actual meaning for the name list was lost on her. Instead she turned around to face the two women that were now standing barely five feet away. "You told me I would be getting explanations? At the moment I have several questions… two most prominent."

Aura spoke first with a sigh, "Thought so. We promised answers and you'll have them. Common, lets get somewhere warmer. Your turning blue." She waved over her shoulder to follow and Minekia did. Iruy only smiled defiantly: the only change to outfits between her clone and herself was a long furred coat. Some reason it didn't surprise Minekia.

* * *

"OK, first things first. I'm guessing names at the moment, but I know your Aura." Minekia pointed a finger at the stated ninja. She was now wrapped in a blanket provided by the Light User, and the small fire they had lead her to help to stave off the cold. Her finger transferred targets to the other, "You must be Iruy according to the list thing in the middle of the village. And Ishtar must be our mother. Am I close?"

Aura smiled, "Yes. You got it, Ishtar is our mother: she is an SS class ninja… her Kekei-Genkai is known as Void Style… and it's scary. Me and Iruy are only S ranked. And we hear you're a ranked at least, and are moving on to S rank quickly."

Minekia shrugged, "I have the Kazakage's teachings to thank for that. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't really be here. Anyway, next question: How is it that Iruy can use Light jutsus? I thought only the Hikaru Clan were the only ones that could use Light jutsus. But she can as well."

This time it was her other sister who answered, her voice was gruff, "It was a theory up until now. Been around for about a hundred years or so, but you've just proven it. Each female of the Misakata Clan evolves their own personal Kekei-Genkai. The theory was that sooner or later, if it was intentional or not, some one would sooner or later copy an already existing Kekei-Genkai. I call mine the Brightest Art, though their Light Jutsus and it are the same. So, while unintentional, we saw this coming for decades." She waved it off, then laid back against the ground.

Aura huffed at their sister, "Anyway, mother wanted us to come and see if you'd care to come back into the Clan. We wont keep you from your duties in the Sand, it'll only be a trip to where our Clan is currently holed up, some training, and a couple other things, then we let you go back with a couple insurances, possibly a visit from one of us every few years. Up to you."

Minekia pulled her knees up to her chin and closed her eyes in thought. It was a chance to learn where she came from, and a chance to discover who she had been. Then the thought came to her, _what would Naruto do?_ That sealed it on the spot. "I'll come with and let you two teach me."

Aura smiled, "Then it's settled! We leave in the morning, but we're stopping by the warehouse on the outskirts of the Village to get you some better clothes and restock on food. Then it's a year trip to Egypt. You better get some sleep." With that the fire was suddenly doused and the small clearing was plunged into Darkness.

Minekia sighed as she laid down to get to her own rest, "It all starts tomorrow… the Kazakage is going to kill me when I get back."

* * *

For four months the trio traveled, seemingly without end. It only took one month to leave the mountains that signaled the northern borders to the Nations. Two more months brought them countless miles father across more mountains and plains. Some times they were held up by snow storms, or rain storms. Minekia's outfit had changed to a pair of furred pants and a long coat with a shirt under it. The brown was a contrast to Iruy's constant yellow and white, and Aura's grey and black.

The Light user was teaching Minekia how to focus her jutsus around her arms better, while Aura was helping her tai-jutsu. Several end results had Minekia on the loosing end showing little progress. The best she could do was strengthen her needles some, and she was lighter on her feet.

They had set up camp for the night and were slow-roasting some rabbit Aura had cooked, each caught up in their own thoughts. Long after darkness settled and as parts of the rabbit blackened Minekia finally broke the silence. "Is it natural to be having the same nightmare every night for a week strait?" The wording of the question was because she had learned recently that what was unnatural for most people, ninja or not, tended to be common place among the Misakata for multiple purposes and reasons. Which was also why she gave up on paying attention to her subconscious desire to watch her hair intently with the strange feeling that it would change colors on her at any second, a fear that when confessed to Sukai once on a rest day earned a loud laugh from the normally stoic girl.

The ensuing brawl had wrecked the Kazakage's office, thus removing their ability to rest there unless the Kage was present. Which, with the results of the brawl made him the one person no one wanted to be around for months afterwards. The team found a new hang out atop the southern walls that lasted longer than the Kage's office.

Aura narrowed her eyes slightly as she was brought back into the real world, "Nightmares? What are they like?"

Minekia tightened even farther into her little ball, "They're always the same. I find my self in a world that's completely empty of everything, and I'm standing on nothing… almost as if it's glass, and there's this presence there. Each time I go there in my dreams I find my self asking the same question… even if I desire to ask something else: Who are you?"

Neither Aura or Iruy expressed surprise at her description, almost as if they expected it. "That place is known to the Misakata as the Horror Scape. It is where Sand Sea's spirit resides. He is a being as such you could not imagine… and when a Misakata becomes old enough he starts to contact us… we females at least, the males have it harder because it blind sides them without warning."

Iruy adjusted her coat and took up Aura's explanation, "Us females get these dreams as a sign that we're strong enough to withstand our first transformation. Other women help us through. The first time… our chakra systems are force-evolved and we gain four times the normal chakra veins with an extra four Gates around out heart. These Gates, we refer to them as the Gates of Eternity, Binding, Omniscience, and Sea. They are separate to the original seven Gates… but the same in context. If you open all of them, then you can gain more power than any mortal should have: at the cost of your life. But only He can open them. Come, the sooner we get it over with the better."

Both Iruy and Aura stood as she said those last words. Minekia, bewildered but curious also stood. She followed the duo as they lead her into a slightly larger clearing The grass was already gone due to the training from earlier but was otherwise intact. Iruy held Minekia back at the edge of it as Aura walked to the center and formed a strange hand sign that Minekia would have been hard-pressed to describe to any significant detail, "Demon Art. Seal: Absolution." All around Aura a large red circle instantly formed. It was filled with inscriptions of witch that glowed with a red light that didn't belong on the Mortal plane, and burned the Sand Ninja's eyes to see, even though her sisters didn't seem to take notice of it. The sounds of the night that had previously seemed eternal ceased and fell silent in the wake of the evil taint that permeated the ground.

Aura turned to face Minekia fully, "Come into the inner circle. Once your over here we'll begin." Slowly Minekia did as her sister told her, slowly walked over the glowing lines of the large seal. She ignored the tingling sensation that traveled up her skin when ever she stepped on one of the lines until the center was below her feet and Aura's hand came to rest on her shoulder, "While it's happening do not allow your will to waver for what ever reason. Do not stray from the path as it is set before you. And most of all, whatever you do, do not loose sight of who you are." With that she stepped away from her and walked back to Iruy leaving Minekia in the middle of the large seal alone.

What did she mean? She closed her eyes with a sigh and shook her head. She'd find out soon enough.

When Minekia opened her eyes again she stifled a scream.

All around her for as far as the eye could see what pure nothingness. She stood, suspended within it, and fear indescribable filled her. But a second glance revealed columns of slowly turning sand spread all around her. The fell from above or below her into eternity, some streams going at different angles, some even horizontal from where she was standing. And not far in front of her sat a shaded figure on a throne carved into one of the falling pillars. She could see the bottom piece of a long robe slightly flowered out from where their feet rested against whatever was holding the two up. And though millions of questions flowed through her mind Minekia found she could only ask one.

"Who are you?"

Her voice was hollow, and echoed in an unnatural way that made her almost shiver.

_**I am…**_

Minekia frowned as his voice trailed off, almost as if he was suspecting her to fade like she did in her dreams. But when she didn't his head lifted from where it had been resting against his raised fist. Slowly he stood, and the throne vanished into the falling sand as he walked towards her.

_**So your initiation has begun. Good. I am…**_ His name was a collection of syllables that Minekia had never heard before and had no hope, even if all the gods in existence shined down on her, to pronounce within this lifetime. And around her she could hear the nothingness groan in protest as powers that filled it twisted and shifted in place, attempting to break free, with but a single word he had put strain on the fabric of the reality that held them. The power made her shudder. _**The Mortal world knows me as Sand Sea. A daemon that had supposedly died long ago, except by those who know the truth. A being who has no mortal coils to restrain the growth of my power. With my dieing breath I made a pact with your ancestors. I gain immortality, and in return I protect and reside over their descendants. As we speak your body is changing, allowing me to merge with you, and fight along side you. So you accept this power?**_

Minekia stared intently at him. She knew that power like this came with a usually undesirable price. "I'll accept, but I also desire to know what the price is."

Sand Sea finally came into full view to her. He was in the form of a normal Human male, around seven feet tall, and extremely bulky. A long robe covered him from neck down completely, but his face had her captured. To say it was hansom was the understatement of the millennia, to say it had her speechless would be stating the obvious if one could even bring them selves to talk. Despite the ethereal beauty to it, she was able to break her gaze from his face to take in the rest of his head. Instead of hair he had a fountain of sand that slowly poured from his scalp, and the sand vanished before it could go past his shoulders.

Minekia was enthralled. He held his hand out, "Let us go to the real world. That way we could talk with your sisters." She nodded mutely and grasped his hand.

Then her world turned to pain.

* * *

In the real world both Aura and Iruy were holding each other and holding them selves close to the ground. "Something's wrong! It's going too fast! Aura, we need to do something, I'm not loosing our sister again." But Iruy found she couldn't even stand from her crouched position clinging to Aura as she buried her blades into the ground to anchor them. She was tempted to agree with her sister but knew that interrupting the ceremony would lead to her dead anyway… especially since it was so far along already.

Only a few yard away from them, standing in the center of the circle was their sister's mortal form, twisting as powers beyond their understanding worked their magic. Her entire chakra network fused with her skeleton, abandoning all connection to her flesh. From there her bones grew to well over ten times their original size, tearing apart the skin and muscle that had bound it, and as the bloodied pieces fell away her bones changed. Her jaws extended, becoming a blood-covered maw, her eye sockets split into twelve new ones. Her rib cage closed, and tightened into a barrel, her collar bone thickened into a crest. Her arms split and grew as well, and in moments were a network of hundred of bone segments acting much like a machine. Her hands grew along with her arms, the finger bones fusing into single segments, and her legs and feet doing much the same.

It felt like an eternity, but in only seconds where their sister had stood was now a skeletal monstrosity drenched in the blood of it's birth. Fleshless eyes stared at the two of them for a single instant as the blood mist around it slowly settled. And then, in place of Minekia's churning chakra a familiar one erupted into existence. A fount of power that dwarfed any normal chakra shot into the sky as a visible column. The dirt that had been kicked up spun to life, and was ground into sand, the rock around them and a layer of the earth was also ground into sand. Then all of it was drawn toward the creature, it caught still air-borne flesh and blood, drawing everything in.

And in seconds a being made of flesh, blood, and sand stood before them. Standing nine feet tall, with black eyes the being stood as still as a statue. "She fell asleep due to the pain. But otherwise it was successful. Are you two satisfied?"

They both breathed heavy sighs of relief, "Yeah. Lets let her sleep. We're only a few days away from Egypt anyway, another month until we hit the Nile. From there we can report to mother, and introduce Minekia to the rest of the clan. What about you? You going to be talking to her along the way?"

Sand Sea shrugged, the bloodied sand of his shoulders rolling like desert dunes, "I'll keep up a dialogue with the three of you."

* * *

And with that I leave you this chapter: woulda been out earlier since I only had about five sentences to add for the last week but I'm lazy.

I've also decided that this story is going to be the highlights of her trip. Makes things easier on my lazyness. Also, the last chapter is going to be more or less some random drabbles. Yay!


End file.
